W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

EULER "GELBER HUND” Germany

August Euler, proprietor of the Euler-Werke, near Frankfurt am Main, obtained a patent in 1912 for a fixed forward-firing machine gun aimed by steering the aircraft on which it was mounted in the direction of the target. This development was demonstrated to the German military authorities on 10 May 1912, the gun being mounted on a two-seat pusher biplane named "Gelber Hund" (Yellow Dog). In 1915, the Euler-Werke produced a single-seat fighter, which, also known as the "Gelber Hund", mounted a single fixed forward-firing 7,92-mm Maxim MG 08/15 machine gun in the nose of a short fuselage nacelle, power being provided by a 120 hp Mercedes D III engine mounted at the rear of the nacelle. The propeller rotated between twin wire-braced steel-frame booms carrying the tail assembly. The "Gelber Hund" failed to attract a production order and no specification has apparently survived.

EULER (VERSUCHSZWEISITZER) Germany

In parallel with the single-seat "Gelber Hund", the Euler-Werke built, as a private venture, a two-seat fighter of generally similar configuration referred to simply as a versuchszweisitzer (experimental two-seater). Intended primarily for anti-airship and escort tasks, and powered by a 160 hp Mercedes D III engine, the versuchszweisitzer appeared in the late autumn of 1915, and, in its initial form, featured a rotating turret for a gunner in the extreme nose of the fuselage nacelle, the pilot being accommodated aft. The turret was provided with a single Bergmann MG 15n/A machine gun. After initial trials, the fuselage nacelle was rebuilt, the pilot being moved forward in the nose and provided with a fixed forward-firing Bergmann gun, and the gunner being accommodated in a pulpit-like open-frame turret providing a 360-deg field of fire and mounting a single Parabellum MG 14 machine gun. In an attempt to reduce drag, the frame supporting the turret ring-mounting was subsequently faired in and the forward decking of the fuselage nacelle was raised to partially enclose the fixed gun, but further development was abandoned shortly afterwards.

The Euler "Gelber Hund" of 1915 which featured a fixed forward-firing machine gun in the extreme nose of the fuselage pod.An experimental single-seat pusher design powered with 160 h.p. Mercedes D III engine. No details available.Known as the "Gelber Hund", this single-seat pusher was the first Euler-Werke fighting scout.